BARRY COURTER: Lisa, this is an exciting week for me, and I’m betting you know me well enough to know why.
LISA DENTON: It’s vacation week for you, and that can only mean you are probably already in your oldest, most comfortable clothes and probably standing on a ladder scraping paint, or sanding a floor or, if you are really lucky, raking leaves, your least favoritist thing in the whole wide world.
BARRY: You do know me. It is vacation week for me, and we were actually going to St. Simons Island, but a little inconvenience known as Dorian changed our minds, so, yep, it’s do-something-around-the-house week.
But I was really referring to this coming weekend being the Moon River Music Festival. I had a ball last year, and I’m really looking forward to this year and seeing Jason Isbell and Brandi Carlile. They are both terrific, and her show at Bonnaroo in June was an all-time highlight for me. So emotional and so powerful.
(Read more: This year’s Moon River Festival is sold out)
LISA: She is fabulous, to be sure, although I’m always a little put off by the Hanseroth twins, Phil and Tim. I think I have them figured out, and then I look again and don’t. In an interview with Again Today, a Brandi Carlile fan community, Tim Hanseroth was asked to guess how many times people have asked if he’s related to the other guy who looks just like him. He answered, “That’s easy – Exactly 13,472 times.” I like that he keeps up with it that closely.
BARRY: OK, I wasn’t going to mention them, but it is weird because they stand on either side of her so you can’t really look at them both at the same time to compare, so you are not entirely sure. But I digress, and they are both terrific players.
LISA: My daughter is married to a twin. They’re fraternal but look almost identical. When anybody asks which one she’s married to, she always answers, “The good-looking one.”
BARRY: Now where does she get that quick wit from?
LISA: Apple, tree. Bless her heart.
BARRY: On Thursday, Songbirds will host a party for WTCI-TV 45 previewing the Sept. 15 premiere of Ken Burns’ “Country Music” documentary. It will include a preview of the shows, live music from The Dismembered Tennesseans and food and drink.
LISA: And Friday night, an actual rock ‘n’ roll legend, Mitch Ryder, will kick off UTC Presents the River City Sessions. The move to UTC gives this monthly series room to draw a larger audience, live streaming for select shows and the chance to move to Friday nights, which has been a longtime request from fans. Ryder, best known for “Devil With a Blue Dress On,” will be joined by Jess Goggans, whose father toured in the 1970s with R&B duo Sam & Dave.
BARRY: Ryder is doing a more laid-back show using local musicians and featuring some of the songs by people who influenced him over the years, including stuff by Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson of The Band and Randy Newman. His new song and video called “Putin” is vintage Newman. https://youtu.be/6Ya-FGHdBso.
LISA: Hey, as long as it’s do-something-around-the-house week, you might want to check out the Fall Home & Garden Show at the Chattanooga Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday. Jim Parks, host of HGTV’s “New Spaces,” will present three seminars each day: “Update My Kitchen & Bath,” “I Need Some Curb Appeal” and “Change My Living Space.” The first time I read through that list, I was like, “oh, I need that. Oh, I need that too – oh, I need all of these.” He might get a little tired of me sitting in the front row with my hand up.
BARRY: I don’t need any more ideas. I need laborers not named Barry.
Get event information every Thursday in ChattanoogaNow or online anytime at www.ChattanoogaNow.com.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.